Paris, Los Angeles Celebrate Olympic Wins

(ATR) For Paris and Los Angeles, a night of celebration for their affirmation by the IOC to host the 2024 and 2028 respectively.

With a unanimous show of hands 80+ members of the IOC gave their support to the unique arrangement awarding two Olympic Games in a single vote Wednesday at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru.

Certainly no surprise in the outcome which had been preordained in July when the same IOC membership unanimously endorsed the plan to award the 2024 Games to Paris and 2028 to Los Angeles.

In the time since then, negotiations with Los Angeles went without a hitch as the California city agreed to the terms shifting their bid from 2024 to 2028. While the IOC has awarded two Games at the same time nearly a century ago, it has never had to enter into negotiations like this.

With Los Angeles originally bidding for 2024, the city needed to rewrite agreements with city, state and national governments. LA also had to make sure that facilities originally planned to be available in seven years would also be there for use in 2028.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says the experience has defied preconceptions of what it’s like to deal with the IOC.

"We are told myths about what this process is. I’ve been told this was a very inflexible IOC, but we’ve experienced tremendous flexibility as shown today," said Garcetti Wednesday shortly after the IOC decision.

"We were told this process was tainted, but it’s been clean and clear. We’ve been told it’s supposed to be very demanding and you had to be super ambitious, but instead it’s been cooperative and collaborative," said the mayor who believes other cities should not be wary to take the Olympic plunge.

"For me, the advice I would give to cities is don’t be scared. If you read in the past I can understand why - those countries have made tremendous investments in their infrastructure using the Olympics as an excuse. Cities are becoming more and more realistic. I would say be yourself, fit the Olympics to your city, don’t fit your city to the Olympics," he said.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who didn’t have to change anything to secure 2024, says her experience with the IOC has been positive.

"I would like to tell cities that are planning on bidding in the future that a candidature is very difficult but it is worth bidding," Hidalgo said at the press conference.

"After all these years and months working together, we have learned much. I was unaware of the Olympic world from the inside, I was aware from the outside. I have now seen the Olympic family, people that think of sports and realize how much good sports can bring our communities and the world. I think it is worthwhile to go down this path, respecting the rules and learning to be humble.You come out a better person from this bid," said the mayor.

And as other cities contemplate bids for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Summer Games in 2032 and beyond, Garcetti says focus on what’s really needed.

"Don’t pretend to do things that have nothing to do with the Olympics and put them in the Olympic budget. I think overly ambitious cities and mayors have been as responsible as anyone else for making these Games have a sometimes tough reputation."

Experts: Paris, Los Angeles, Only Way to Go

IOC doyen Richard Pound tells Around the RIngs the choice to award two games is a sound one given the quality of the bids Paris and Los Angeles.

"The downside is holding the jello together for 11 years as opposed to seven years. But I think the model Los Angeles has is going to allow them to do that," he says.

But despite his endorsement of the twin Games award, Pound believes the IOC still has to determine how it will move forward selecting other host cities.

"I think we need to take a step back. Are we doing this whole selectlon process right for the Olympic movement? One of the answers might be instead of sitting back and waiting to see what comes over the transom, maybe we should go and recruit. And then you can go and get all of this bidding stuff out off the way, and that will take the likelihood of corruption out of the picture," Pound says.

Sergey Bubka, IOC member in Ukraine tells ATR that with Paris and Los Angeles selected, coupled with Tokyo in 2020, the Olympics are in a good position.

"It is very strong, positive message. I really think we’re going in the right direction. We have very strong support and interest for Olympic Games," says Bubka.

Anita DeFrantz, senior IOC member in the U.S. has experienced painful failures of New York City for 2012 and Chicago for 2016. She says that timing is one of the keys to success.

"The USOC had to choose the right time and the right city. Unfortunately I think New York was too soon and Chicago had a different set of problems," she says.

Donna Devarona, the teenaged phenom from the 1964 Olympics, had worked on both of those previous U.S. bids.

"It’s the best possible solution," she tells ATR in Lima about the Paris-LA accord. "It gave the IOC room to decide to do what they did."

She also says the two Games package approved Wednesday avoided another crash for a U.S. Olympic bid.

"What I was nervous about was if they didn’t go for two. It would have been very hard to beat Paris," says Devarona.

Olympian Michael Johnson, a member of the LA team in Lima,tells ATR that young people will be served most by the long term situation the IOC has established.

"Not only do you have two fantastic hosts for the next two games after Tokyo, you have 11 years of opportunity to inspire young people and really help develop grassroots sports in Los Angeles," he says.

Click here to read more exclusive content in our special edition magazine for Lima!

Written and reported in Lima by Ed Hula.

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